Reclining chair having deep upholstered seat and disappearing footrest



Feb. 19, 1957 w. J. ROTE 2,781,826

RECLINING CHAIR HAVING DEEP UPHOLSTERED v SEAT AND DISAPPEARING FOOTREST Filed Oct. 31, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l FJ'C) IN VEN TOR.

BY Wflburj R012, y ar/6% a, k g; ATTORNEY.

Feb. 19 1957 w J ROTE 2,781,826

RECLINING CHAIR HAVING DEEP UPHOLSTERED SEAT AND DISAPPEARING FOOTREST 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 31, 1955 INVENTOR.

WJ'MarJRofa,

ATTORNEY.

Feb. 19, 1957 w. J.ROTE 2,781,326

RECLINING CHAIR HAVING DEEP UPHOLSTERED SEAT AND DISAPPEARING F OOTREST 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 31, 1955 RECLINING CHAIR HAVING DEEP UPI-IOLSTERED' SEAT AND DISAPPEARING FOOTREST Wilbur J. Rote, Williamsville, Y.

Application October 31, 1955, Serial No. 543,823

Claims. (Cl. 155-106) This invention relates to a reclining chair, and it is particularly concerned with a chair having a tiltable back and movable seat, together with a leg rest and a foot rest, which foot rest is concealed from normal view when the chair is in an upright position, and to the mechanism by means of which the desired characteristics and effects are obtained.

It has heretofore been proposed to construct a chair in such fashion that the back may be tilted rearwardly so that the user may assume a reclining position, and to provide a support for the legs which more or less forms an extension of the frontof the chair'or seat portion. Some obviously, upon first view, just what they are intended to be, namely, a reclining chair. Others are so constructed as to have substantially no clear space between the bottom leg stretchers and the floor, which, to many persons, detracts from the appearance, and also makes routine room cleaning operations more difficult. A

My invention, among other things, contemplates a reclining chair which, when in its upright position, looks like a formal chair such as would be found in a Well furnished household, which lends itself readily to abundant and therefore comfortable padding and upholstering, which can be styled and finished to be compatible with a wide range of furniture designs, and which, in a normal size for formal room chairs, can readily accommodate persons of different heights and weights with equal comfort.

My invention further contemplates a reclining chair of the type described which is adapted to receive a removable and reversible upholstered cushion on the seat portion, thereby to retain this useful and desirable feature of a well-built chair. It further contemplates a chair in which there is a foot rest, as well as a rest for the calves of the legs, thereby adding to the overall length of the chair when in its reclined position and accordingly accommodating tall persons comfortably. My foot rest, however, is not visible when the chair is in its upright position (except to one who might lie down on the floor to look under). By means of certain portions of the operating mechanism, the foot rest is made tofold under when the chair is brought to its upright position, and to disappear in back of the lower portion of the leg rest.

The foregoing features, together with others, will be explained in the following description of an operative embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of the chair, upholstered and finished, as it appears in the upright position;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, with parts in elevation, showing the operating mechanism, and with the padding or upholstery indicated in dot and dash lines, and with the chair in its upright position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the chair ness and curvature toward the front of the chair.

in its reclined position, and with the leg and foot rests extended;

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary enlarged sections taken respectively on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective showing portions of the frame and leg and foot rests, together with the operating mechanism therefor.

Fig. 1 has been drawn from a full sized embodiment.

of the invention, and it shows what appears to be a conventional arm chair, which has been upholstered and finished with a suitable covering material, so that the chair has all the attributes of a well made and useful article of furniture. There is a back 10, side sections 11 provided with arms 12, a seating cushion 13 resting on a suitable support, a front section 14 which, as herein shown, has been so dimensioned and padded that there is no noticeable crack or gap adjacent the side sections 11, and feet 15 which, it will be noted, space the sides and front from the floor a normal distance, say about four inches.

The proportions and dimensions of the chair are those common to articles of thisnature. They may be varied within the ranges well known to cabinet makers, and.

obviously there is a wide variety of styling drawn upon. r

The relatively'fixed or stationary framing for the chair may follow acceptable cabinet making practice. The main which may be elements of the frame areshown in Figs. 2 and 3, and

connected by stretchers such as those designatedby the numerals 23 and 24. No stretcher is provided directly between the front uprights 21, but adequate rigidity is insured by a transverse stretcher 25, placed toward the front of the chair. Thefront and back uprights are also connected by upper side rails 26, and by arm rails 27 constituting framing elements for the arms 12, which, in the illustrated embodiment, are fitted with side extensions 28, suitably shaped to give the arms the contour desired. Conventional methods of jointing may be used, and need no discussion.

The frame for the back 10 is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and also in Fig. 4. There are two side posts 31, relatively thin at the tops and band sawed to have increasing thickness as they approach the arm rails 27. For the purpose of conserving material, these posts may be made from several pieces of stock, suitably joined, and in the construction illustrated, the lower portions 32 of the posts 31 are first separately formed to have substantially greater thick- These curved portions are so shaped to add to the comfort of the user, and also, as will be presently pointed out, to enable the user to tilt the back without undue rufiling of the clothing.

The post are interconnected at top and bottom by slats 33 and 34. This frame fits between the side rails 26 and, in order to carry the back over the back portions of the arms 12, as shown in Fig. 1, there are additional outboard posts 35, which may be connected to the posts 31 by extension blocks aligned with the upper slat 33, and by blocks 36 positioned between the lower ends of the posts 35 and the posts 31, and which may, if desired, be formed bynotching or lap jointing an intermediate slat 37 between the posts 31. It will be noted, from both Figs. 2 and 3, that the back frame members 32 have close clearance with the upper back stretcher 23, enough simply for the finishing material, so that the gap will be as inconspicuous as possible.

The seat frame comprises spaced side rails 33 and end rails 39 and 40, and it is upholstered in any suitable manner to receive the cushion l3. The construction of the Patented Feb. 19, 1357 leg and foot rests will be apparent from Fig. 61 The leg rest comprises spaced side posts 41 interconnected by a cross stretcher 42 which is secured along the inner edges of the posts, to provide a clearance toward the outer edges for a portion of the operating mechanism. The foot rest frame similarly comprises spaced side posts 43 interconnccted at their free extremities by a stretcher 44. The adjacent edges of both rest frames are mitered, so that the foot rest can be turned ninety degrees with respect to the leg rest, as is clearly shown in Fig. 6. The'rests are interconnected on their outer edges by hinges 45, whose leaves are respectively secured to the aligned posts 41 and 43. As heretofore-noted, the dot and'dash lines in Figs. 2 and 3 indicate the extent to which parts of the various frames have been filled out by upholster mg.

Having thus described the various structural parts of the chair, attention will nowbedirected to the mechanism byrneans of which they are secured in their cooperative relationships. This mechanismcomprisesapair of like link systems, one on'either side,- so organized that when the back is tilted rearwardly, the seat frame and. cushion 13 are elevated at their fronts to have a greater included angle with the back. Concurrently, the leg rest 14 swings outwardly, and the foot rest pivots with. respect to the leg rest to form an extension thereof.

A. fixed main pivot bolt 51 is mounted towardthe'back of. each. side. rail 26, and it extends through a spacing collar 50 (Fig. 4) through the lower and forward portion of the adjacent back post 32 A downwardly and forwardly extending link 52, which is bent for clearance" purposes, is pivotally mounted on thebolt 51, and its lower end is fixedly secured to the outer face of the side" rail 38 of the seat frame, as by means of screws 53. The back portion of the seatis thus supported-under thelower portion of. the back 10, and in slightly spaced relation thereto. A second or front pivot bolt 54' is fixedly secured in the side rail 26, with its center slightly lower than that of the bolt 51, andfrom it depends a pivotally mounted lever 55, also bent for clearance purposes. A

forwardly and upwardly inclined hinge link 56 is pivoted to the link 55, adjacent its midportion, by a stud 57, and the opposite end of the link 56 is pivoted by a stud 58 to a plate 59, which is let into and fixedly secured to the 'seat rail 38. In illustrating the linkage in Figs. 2 and 3, fulllines have been employed as much as possible for purposes of clarity. From Figs. 4 and 5, it is clear that the linkage isdisposed inside of the frame side' rails 26, and outside of the seat side rails 38. Hence, Figs. 2 and 3 should 'be read as though the rails 26 and. 38 have been broken away at appropriate points toward. the observer, who then would. see the companion part on the far side of the chair.

The distance. between the pivotv points 54 and. 57' is somewhat greater than the distance betweenthei pivots 57 and 58, and when the seat supporting linkage just described is actuated, the seat is movedl bodilyforward, and arcuately upward at its forward end, so thatthe front end of the seat iselevated above the fixed side rails 26. The link 56 and plate 59 close on each other, jackknife or hinge fashion, as will be seen from a comparison of Figs; 2 and 3. The back of the seat has a relatively slight downward. arcuate movement, due to the proportioning of. the several links and the location of their connecting pairs. This differential movement of the seat frame and with it the cushion 13'has been found useful in maintaining suitable relative relationships between the cushion 13 and the back 10 when the chair is moved from one position to another.

The lower portion 32 of the back post 31 has secured thereto, as by means of screws 61, a. downwardly and rearwardly inclined lever 62, to the lower end of which is pivotally connected by a rivet 63. a forwardly and upwardly extending bell crank transmission lever 64. The lever 64 is pivotally connected at its knee to. the. pivot space theretofore occupied by the back end of the seat frame, but due to the forward and slightly downward motion of such portion of the scat frame, adequate clean ance between and satisfactory mutual relationships of these portions is maintained.

The side posts 41 of the leg rest 14 are provided on their inner upper surfaces with brackets 65, and the forwardly and upwardly extending portion 66 of the bell crank lever 64 is pivotally connected to this bracket by a stud 67. Inasmuch as the four link system defined by the pivot points 51, 54, 57 and 63 is constrained, and the system comprising the pivot points 51, 54, 57 with links 26, 52-38, and 55-56 is interconnected therewith, the portion 66 of each lever 64 is constrained to move in an arcuate path and upwardly with respect to the main frame of the chair, and carry the leg rest with it. This motion would not, of itself, necessarily cause the leg rest 14 to move outwardly as well. Such motion is effected, however, by additional linkage. It will be of course understood that in just alluding to the side rails 26 and 33 as links,'it is because they function as such kinematically, in addition to their function as framing members.

. The link 55, heretofore considered primarily with relation to the seat motion, is a compound link, having an extension 71 to which is pivotally connected, by a 'stud 72,. an ejection link 73, substantially parallel to the arm 66 of'th e bell crank lever 64. The link 73 is pivoted to the bracket 65 by a stud 70. It will be noted that the distance between the pivots 67 and 70 is slightly less than that between the pivots 57 and 72. Hence, the links 71,66, 65. and 73 do not constitutean exact parallelogram linkage, but they may be so considered for the purposes of this description. As the link 71 moves in its aicuate path about the fixed pivot 54, the bracket. 65 is also constrained to have arcuate motion by its connection to the ejection link 73. The leg rest 14, to which the brackets 65 are fixedly connected, is therefore constrained to have outward as well as upward, motion.

The ejection link 73 is also a compound link, having a forwardly projecting portion 74, which lies, within the inner surface of the leg rest side post 41, as perhaps is best shown in Fig. 6. To this portion 74 is pivotally connected' a dependent link 75 by means of a stud 76. It will' be seen. that the link 75 passes in front of the cross stretcher 42', which will make it additionally clear; why the legrest frame has been constructed as described. The lower'end of the link'lS is pivotally connected by a stud 77't0'a plate 78, which in turn is secured to the post 43 of the foot rest. As illustrated, the relative lengths of the links is such that when the chair is in its upright position, the foot rest is turned under the chair and at substantially right angles to the leg rest. When the chair is moved to its reclined position, the foot rest is aligned with the leg rest, to form an extension thereof, with no noticeable gap therebetween.

The motion of the foot rest may be understood from the following considerations. When the chair is in the upright position of Fig. 2, there is, of course, a finite distance between the fixed pivot 54 and the pivot 76 connecting the link 75 to the link 73, and thus to the parallelo gram linkage of which the link 73 is a part. Or, it may be considered also that there' is a similar finite distance between the pivots 76 and 67. As the parallelogram linkage is actuated about the fixed pivot 54, all links thereof move forward and upward with reference to the stationary chair frame, and the link 75 likewise moves up and out with regard to the same fixed reference. But

the parallelogram linkage is necessarily constrained within itself, and the finite distances between the pivots 54 and 76, and between the pivots 67 and 76, are therefore increased. This has the effect of imposing a downward thrust on the link 75 relative to the leg rest frame members 41.

As the foot rest is pivotally connected to the leg rest by the hinge connections 45, the foot rest is caused to swing downwardly and outwardly from the Fig. 2 to the Fig. 3 position. It is of interest to note that the length of the foot rest is such that it would strike the floor if it were dropped with the leg rest in its vertical position. However, the lengths of the links and their paths of motion are so coordinated that the foot rest has ample clearance from the floor as it swings concurrently with the motion of the leg rest.

When the foot rest is aligned with the leg rest in the reclined position, further relatively downward movement of the link 75 is precluded, and the linkage therefore provides its own limit stop. Simlarly, when the chair is in the upright position, the foot rest cannot be turned further, and it so again serves as a limit stop. It may be noted that, in this position, the rear ends of the bell cranks 64 may lightly abut the adjacent back stretcher 23, but this need not be relied upon as a stop. In Fig. 3, the cushion 13 is shown at its front end as being well above the leg rest, but this is simply due to the fact that the chair is shown as unoccupied. The weight of the body will compress the cushion into substantially continuous relationship with the leg rest.

It should also be noted that the chair is self-balancing in all positions, and no latches need be employed to maintain it wherever the user wishes. To shift from the upright to a reclined position, the user need only apply a 'very slight thrust on the chair arms with the hands, and to retain the upright position, a slight pull on the chair arms, coupled with a forward inclination of the body is all that is required. In some chairs which have come to my attention, the movement from one position to another is attended with changes in the movable parts of the chair with relation to that portion of the body with which they are in contact. This causes a displacement of the clothing, a coat or shirt is apt to be ruffled and pulled, and the user must shift or squirm to release the tension. In the present chair, this unsatisfactory condition has not yet been observed with any user of any height or weight. I attribute this in part to the above described forward and upward movement of the seat section, and its differential movement with respect to the back, which appears to maintain support for the various parts of the body in the correct positions.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides an improved reclining chair, wherein the operating mechanism is compact and balanced, and thus adapting the chair to a wide variety of styling. One important consideration which was constantly in mind during the development of the invention was to provide a chair of this nature whch could be upholstered to give to the user the maximum of comfort without sacrifice of appearance. The present invention is believed to have attained these objectives. For example, the provision of a chair which can take a soft removable cushion, and withal be proportioned properly, is believed to be one feature acceptable from an esthetic as well as a purely utilitarian aspect. While the invention has been described with respect to only one embodiment, it will be understood that it is susceptible to variations and modifications which are encompassed within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A reclining chair having a relatively fixed frame including front and rear legs and side rails extending between the legs above the bottoms thereof, a seat member disposed within the side rails and extending between the front and rear legs, each of said side rails having positioned therein a rear fixed pivot adjacent the rear portion of the fixed frame, a downwardly extending rear" seat link pivotally mounted on each rear fixed pivot and.

rigidly secured to the seat member adjacent the rear thereof, a front fixed pivot positioned in each of said side rails between the side rails and above the rear portion of the,

seat frame, a forwardly extending transmissionlever disposed below the back and having a pivotal connection to the back at one end and also a pivotal connection to the front seat link, said back being tiltable from an upright to a reclined position to thereby actuate the movement of the seat member concurrently with the motion of the back, a leg rest disposed between the front legs and being substantially vertical when the back is upright, a bracket on each upper corner of the leg rest, and a generally parallelogram linkage including said bracket as one short link thereof connected to each of said front seat links to move the leg rest outwardly and upwardly as the back is moved to an inclined position.

2. A reclining chair having a relatively fixed frame including front and rear legs and side rails extending between the legs above the bottoms thereof, a back pivotally mounted on the side rails and tiltable from an upright to a reclining position, a seat member positioned between the side rails and having rear and front spaced fixed pivotal connections thereto, a leg rest disposed between the front legs and having a substantially vertical position when the back is upright, a foot rest hingedly connected to the lower portion of the leg rest and having a substantially horizontal position beneath the side rails and above the bottoms of the legs when the back is in an upright position, said foot rest thereby being substantially concealed from view, linkage mechanism including a transmission lever interconnecting the back and seat member, said linkage mechanism also including a parallelogram linkwork having a portion of the transmission lever as one long link thereof, said parallelogram linkwork having one short link fixedly connected to the leg rest and pivotally connected to both long links of said parallelogram linkwork, one long link of said linkwork having a portion extending beyond said one short link, a thrust link pivotally connected at one end to said portion and pivotally connected to the foot rest at its other end, whereby, when the back is tilted from its upright to reclining position, the seat will be shifted with respect to the fixed frame and back, the leg rest will be swung arcuately upwardly, and the motion of the parallelogram linkwork will concurrently actuate the thrust link to swing the foot rest with respect to the leg rest from its concealed position into substantial longitudinal alignment with the leg rest.

3. A reclining chair including a relatively fixed frame having front and rear legs interconnected by side rails and by bottom stretchers below the side rails and above the bottoms of the legs, a back pivotally connected to the side rails adjacent the rear legs, a seat member between the side rails extending from adjacent the front legs to underneath the front portion of the back and having a rear fixed pivotal connection to the side rails, a front fixed pivot link mounted on each side rail and depending therefrom, a hinge link pivotally connected to the front pivot link at one end and to the front portion of the seat member at the other end, a transmission lever pivotally connected to the back below the side rails and to said front pivot link, a parallelogram linkwork having one short link formed by an extension of said front pivot link, a leg rest positioned between the front legs in vertical position when the back is u right, atsecond short link of said" parallelogram linkwork fixedly connectedto 'said leg rest, relatively long links pivotally'c'onnectedtoboth said one short link and said second short link, a foot rest hingedly connected to the leg rest at the bottom thereof and adapted, when the back is upright, 'to'be disposed in substantially concealed and horizontal position between said bottom 'stretchers, one of said relativly long links having aportion projecting beyond said 'sec'ond'short link, and a 'thrust link pivotally connected to said portion at one end and to the foot rest at its other end.

4. A reclining chair having a relatively fixed frame including "front and rear legs and side rails extending between the legs above the bottom thereof, a backpivotally connected to the side rails 'and 'tiltable from an upright to an inclined'position, a seat member mounted between the'side rails and pivotally connected thereto, a leg rest positioned between the front legs and having a substanti'ally'vertical position when the back is upright, said leg rest comprising a framehaving spaced side posts, a foot 20 rest'hingedly connected'to the leg rest at the lowerportion thereof, said foot rest having a substantially horizontal position below the side rails and in back of the leg rest when the back is upright, linkage mechanism interconnecting the back, seat member, and leg rest to move the seat member forwardly and upwardly and to move the leg rest outwardly and upwardly when the backis tilted from an upright to an inclined position, a thrustlink pivotally connected atone end'to thefoot rest and extending'along the inner side of the adjacent side of the leg rest, "said linkage mechanism including a linkhaving a pivotal connection tothe side'post of the leg rest and another pivotal connection to the opposite end of the thrust link.

5. A reclining chair as set forthin claim 4, wherein said linkage mechanism includes a parallelogram linkage having a compound link fixedly pivoted to a side rail and also pivoted to the seat member, a pair of relatively long links each 'pivotally connected at one end tothe compound link below said side rail, a fourth link secured to theleg rest at'the upper portion of a side postthereof, said pair of relatively long links being pivotally connected to said fourth link at their opposite ends, one of said relatively long links having a forwardly projecting portion disposed within the inner surface of the side post of the leg rest, said portion comprising the link pivotally connected to the opposite end of the thrust link.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Spear Jan. 5, 1954 

